Safety flush valve



June 20, 1 961 Filed July 20, 1959 H. RUTHERFORD 2,988,751

SAFETY FLUSH VALVE 2 SheetsSheet 1 Fig] 1N VEN TOR.

fi. ,3 I 32 s fi " Harry Rutherford June 20, 1961 Filed July 20, 1959 H.RUTHERFORD v SAFETY FLUSH VALVE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Harry RutherfordINVENTOR.

2,988,751 SAFETY FLUSH VALVE Harry Rutherford, 954 Jefferson Ave.,Huntington, W. Va. Filed July 20, 1959, Ser. No. 828,232 6 Claims. (Cl.4-56) This invention relates to plumbing equipment and more particularlyto a safety device for a commode to prevent normal flushing operationsin the event that the toilet bowl has an overabundance of water therein.

An object of the invention is to provide a fully automatic attachmentfor a toilet bowl-water closet assembly wherein the flush tank candischarge no water or at least, a minimum of water into the toilet bowlin the event that the water level in the toilet bowl is elevated beyondwhat is considered to be a safe operating level. Accordingly, should thetoilet bowl become stopped or should the soil line become clogged andthe water in the toilet bowl reach a high level, very little or noadditional water is permitted to enter the toilet bowl in response toordinary flushing endeavors.

A further object of the invention is to provide an attachment which maybe used as original equipment with toilet ensembles or which may beapplied as an attachment for existing installations to serve anidentical purpose as set forth above.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a flush tank and toilet bowl,parts being broken away in section to expose the attachment.

FIGURE 2 is a view similar to FIGURE 1 but showing the attachment in aposition at which little or no additional water may enter the toiletbowl.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the attachment.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 44 of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale and taken on the line5-5 of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view showing the valve in FIGURE 5 in a secondposition.

In the accompanying drawings there is a conventional toilet bowl 10 anda conventional flush tank 12 equipped with a standard flushing mechanism14. Plush tank 12 has a valve seat 16 in registry with a passage 18 thatcommunicates with the water chamber 20 of the bowl 10 with the interiorof the flush tank. Rim 22 of the toilet bowl has a number of apertures24 which are part of a water manifold 26 in communication with chamber20. The apertures function as orifices for the discharge of water intothe toilet bowl.

Attachment 3t) exemplifies the principles of the invention and isapplied as shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, to the conventional flush tank andtoilet bowl. The attachment is very simple in construction and consistsof a ball-type valve 32 made of rubber or some other elastomericsubstance and having an air cavity 34 with a lower discharge opening 36therein. The construction of the ball valve element is very similar to aconventional flush ball and it is operated by the flush mechanism 14 inprecisely the same way as an ordinary flush tank ball valve i.e. itcooperates with seat 16 to control water flow through passageway 18.However, the valve member 32 has a tube 38 attached thereto andextending axially into the air cavity 34. There is a group of airorifices 40 near the upper end of the tube and adjacent to the upperpart of cavity 34. A thin lightweight United States Patent 0 F flexibletube 42 is joined to the lower end of tube 38. Tube 42 may be made ofrubber or plastic and functions as an air conductor. The lower end ofthe tube 42 is connected to a nipple 44 protruding from valve body 46.

The valve body 46 (FIGURES 5-6) is simply a casing having a bracket 48on its upper end and a transverse wall 50 at the lower end thereof.Central passage 54 is provided in wall 50 and a float stem 56 extendsthrough the passage. A float S8, for instance a buoyant ball, isattached to the lower extremity of stem 56 and is on the exterior of thevalve body 46. Valve 60 is attached to the upper end of stem 56 and isdisposed above the upper casing wall 51 which also forms the top wall ofvalve chamber 47 enclosed by the valve body casing. Valve 60 may havevarious different shapes, one being a ball which is self-centering bycooperating with spherical seat 62 around air port 53 formed in theupper surface of wall 51.

Although other methods of installation are possible, a preferred mannerof installing attachment 30 is to extend tube 42 through the center ofpassage 18, through chamber 20 and one of the apertures 24. The valvecasing 46 is simply hung by bracket 48 over rim 22 so that the float 58depends into the toilet bowl. It is to be understood that the flush ballvalve 32 replaces the ordinary flush ball and in fact, may be aconverted flush ball by installation of tube 38 therein. It is furtherto be clearly understood that the ordinary functioning of the toilet isin no way changed by the presence of attachment 30. The only change isunder emergency conditions when the water in the toilet bowl 10 (FIG. 2)reaches what is considered to be an unsafe high level. The water levelshown in FIGURE 2 is considerably above the water level in the trap ofthe toilet bowl and therefore, it is an abnormally high level, such aswould be caused by a clogged trap or drain.

During normal operation of the commode the tank ball flush valve israised from its seat by the operation of flushing mechanism 1-4 and isheld in the raised position by air trapped within the ball. This causesthe ball to float until the water'in the tank drains into the toiletbowl, after which the flush ball reseats by gravity and the tank refillswith water to the normal level, depending on the setting of the float(not shown).

It the toilet bowl outlet becomes clogged with waste material or if forany other reason the level of water in the toilet bowl becomessufficiently high to be deemed unsafe or at least, indicative of anunsafe condition in the plumbing drain system, the valve member 60becomes unseated allowing air .to escape from the ball valve 32 by wayof orifices 4t), tubes 38 and 42, cavity or chamber 47 and port 53. Asthe air escapes, the Water enters the tank ball valve 32, causing it tosink to the closed position on seat 16. This prevents the further flowof water from the tank into the bowl. After the tank ball valve 32closes, the water which enters the ball, drains from the opening 36 inthe bottom of the ball.

If there are subsequent fiushings of the commode, while the water levelis high in the bowl (FIGURE 2) the tank ball valve 32 will closeimmediately with only a minimum amount of water escaping from the tankinto the bowl. When the water level in the commode lowers to a normaloperating level, valve 60 will again seat thereby closing offpassageways 53. This allows the commode to operate in the normal manner.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art it is not desired to limit theinvention to the exact construction and operation shown and described,and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may beresorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. For use in a commode comprising a bowl and a flush tank having adischarge opening therein communieating with the bowl, a buoyant hollowball valve operable in the tank and engageable in the opening forcontrolling the discharge of water therethrough, a vent tubecommunicating with the ball valve for destroying the buoyancy thereof,and a normally closed float valve in the bowl connected to the vent tubeand adapted to be opened when the water rises to a predetermined levelin the bowl.

2. For use in a commode comprising a bowl and a flush tank having adischarge opening therein communieating with the bowl, a buoyant hollowball valve operable in the tank and engageable in the discharge openingfor controlling the passage of water therethrough, means for manuallyopening the ball valve, a flexible vent tube passing through the openingand connected at one end to the ball valve and communicating therewithfor destroying the buoyancy thereof, and a normally closed float valveconnected to the other end of the vent tube and mounted in the bowl foractuation to open position when the water in said bowl rises to apredetermined level.

3. For use in a commode comprising a bowl and a flush tank having adischarge opening therein communicating with said bowl, a buoyant hollowball valve operable in the tank and engageable in the opening forcontrolling the passage ofwater therethrough, said ball valve having anair chamber extending upwardly thereinto from the lower end thereof, avent tube for destroying the buoyancy of the ball valve, said vent tubeincluding an end portion extending upwardly into the ball valve andaflixed to the upper portion thereof and having communication with theair chamber, and a normally closed float valve on the other end portionof the vent tube mounted in the bowl and operable to open position whenthe water in said bowl rises to a predetermined level.

4. For use in a commode comprising a bowl and a flush tank having adischarge opening therein communicating with said bowl, a hollow ballvalve operable in the tank and engageable in the opening for controllingthe passage of water therethrough, and means in the bowl operable bywater therein and connected to the ball valve for destroying itsbuoyancy when the water in said bowl rises to a predetermined level,

5. For use in a commode comprising a bowl and a flush tank having adischarge opening therein communicating with said bowl, a hollow ballvalve operable in the tank and engageable in the opening for controllingthe passage of water therethrough, means in the bowl connected to theball valve for destroying its buoyancy when the water in said bowl risesto a predetermined level, said means including a flexible vent tubehaving one end connected to the ball valve in communication therewithand extending therefrom into the bowl, and a normally closed float valveon the other end of the vent tube mounted in the bowl above the normallevel of the water therein.

6. For us in a commode comprising a bowl and a flush tank having adischarge opening therein communicating with said bowl, a hollow ballvalve operable in the tank and engageable in the opening for controllingthe passage of water therethrough, means in the bowl connected to theball valve for destroying its buoyancy when the water in said bowl risesto a predetermined level, said means including a flexible vent tubehaving one end connected to the ball valve in communication therewithand extending therefrom into the bowl, a normally closed float valve onthe other end of the vent tube mounted in the bowl above the normallevel of the water therein said float valve comprising a verticalcylinder having an air chamber therein communicating with the vent tubeand further having a port in its upper end, a vertical stern extendingslidably through the cylinder, a valve member on the upper end of saidstem engageable by gravity in the port for closing same, and a float onthe lower end of the stem for opening said valve member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

